Hoe stand



June 28, 1949.

J. F. HENDRIX HOE STAND Filed May 3, 1946 diV/E/YDQ/X IN V EN TOR.

frrow/sy Patented June 28, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT 'O'FFICE HOE STAND John F. Hendrix, Monday, Tex.

Application May 3, 1946, Serial No. 667,033

3 Claims.

1 This invention relates to stands for retaining garden implements for sharpening, and more particularly to such devices especially adapted for holding a garden hoe.

Gardening and weeding hoes are usually sharpened by passing a mill file angularly across the cutting edge of the blade, thus requiring means for holding the blade in a rigid position while in the process of sharpening, and thereby permitting greater efiiciency during the process and providing greater safety to the person engaged in the process of sharpening.

The principal object of the invention is to provide means for holding a hoe blade rigidly in position for sharpening, utilizing the end of the hoe handle as one leg in forming a tripod in conjunction with the invention herein described.

Another object of the invention is to provide a blade-conforming shoulder in a stand as means for securing the blade in proper position for sharpening.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a lateral member in a sharpening stand as means for clamping the ferrule on the end of the hoe handle when pressure is applied downwardly upon the hoe handle.

With the foregoing objects as paramount, the

invention has further reference to certain features of accomplishment Which will become apparent as the description proceeds, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is an end elevational view of a hoe sharpening stand constructed according to the invention showing a hoe in phantom relationship therewith.

Figure 2 is a side perspective view of the hoe stand to illustrate in greater detail a blade-conforming shoulder in a lateral member adapted to receive the back of a hoe blade.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the invention showing a hoe in position for sharpening, and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention utilizing angle iron in its construction. 7

Continuing with a more detailed description of the drawings, a pair of upright members In serve as the two legs of the invention, having a cylindrical lateral spacing member H for maintaining rigid spaced relationship between the ground engaging ends of the legs ID. A block I2 is permanently secured to the legs l0 adjacent their upper ends, acting as a clamping member as'will' be more fully described hereinafter.

A later-ally disposed blade holder I3 is fastened to the front edges of the legs H] as illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3. In this instance the blade holder i3 is a portion of shiplap lumber, the lip along the upper edge forming a shoulder to support the back of a hoe blade in a rigid horizontal position while sharpening the cutting edge of the blade I l. The holder I3 is inset fiush with the edges of the legs ID for greater stability and more pleasing appearance. A notch l5 in the holder 13 is provided to permit a hoe handle It to pass therethrough in placing theblade It in proper position for sharpening, the end of said handle it being a ground engaging third member of a tripod stand thus formed in conjunction with the legs It.

In use as a sharpening stand the handle it and causes said handle Hi to assume the slightly arcuated contour illustrated by the dash lines in Figure 3. This procedure reacts in like manner upon the legs l0 and its attached members, causing the stand to assume the approximate position also shown in dash lines in Figure 3.

It will be noted that as the stand moves to assume the position previously described the block l2 will bear more and more firmly upon a ferrule IT at point I), thus acting as the fulcruni of a lever in bringing the back of the blade l4 into rigid engagement with the shoulder provided therefor on the holder l3. Thus, in effect, the block l2 bearing upon the ferrule l1 and the holder I3 supporting the blade [4 form a means for rigidly securing the blade l4 while in the process of sharpening. It should be further noted that the notch l5 in the holder I3 is of sufiicient capacity to receive hoes having a variety of bight diameters in order that the previously described clamping effect may be freely accomplished.

A modified form of the invention is illustrated in Figure 4, in which legs l8 are constructed of angle iron. A spacing bar I9 is welded to the inner surfaces of the legs [8 serving in the capacity previously ascribed to the spacing member I l. The upper ends of the legs l8 are welded together to form a rigid frame. A pair of short sections of angle iron 20 are welded transversely of the frame as illustrated, having a portion of each section removed to form a shoulder for re- 3 taining the back of the hoe blade ll while being sharpened. The juncture of the inner surfaces of the legs 3 acts upon the ferrule ll of the handle IS in practically the same manner described relating to the block [2 of the preferable embodiment of the invention.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fall within the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A hoe sharpening stand including an A- frame, a hoe blade retaining member fixedly disposed transversely on one side of said frame in spaced relation to the apex thereof .and provided with a gullet to receive the handle of said hoe blade, the end of said handle .being adapted to engage the ground in spaced relation to said stand in support thereof, a second transverse member on the opposite side of said stand and above said first member adapted to exert a downward thrust .on said hoe handle in tilted position of said frame to clamp said hoe in said frame.

2. A hoe sharpening. stand including an A- frame; a spaced parallel hoe blade retaining member stationarily disposed transversely on said frame adjacent the apex thereof andladapted to receive the back of said hoe blade, the handle of the latter being adapted to extend from said frame and engage the ground at a point spaced therefrom to support said frame in an operatively inclined position, a rigid member carried by said frame above and in parallelism with said first member and adapted to exert a downward thrust on said hoe handle to clamp the same in said frame.

3. A hoe sharpening stand comprising an A- frame, a transversely disposed blade retaining member affixed to one side of said frame, and recessed to receive a hoe blade, the handle of the latter extending rearwardly of said frame and engaging the ground to support the frame in an operative position, and a second transverse member aifixed to the opposite side of said frame adjacent the apex thereof in spaced parallelism with said first member and under which said hoe handle is adapted to extend.

JOHN F. HENDRIX.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,207,212 Purcell Dec. 5, 1916 1,237,209 King Aug. 14, 1917 Daude Sept. 20, 1932 

